[quote] Dear Princess Twilight, Sunset Shimmer was shot. Come as soon as you can. - Fluttershy [/quote] Princess Twilight stepped out of the mirror portal outside Canterlot High, greeted by Rainbow Dash limping impatiently in a tight circle. "Okay, so what exactly is going on now? Sunset Shimmer was shot by what, exactly? I'm guessing 'out of a cannon' and Pinkie is to blame, but I haven't ruled out adverse vaccine reaction or experimenting with alcohol and Fluttershy just isn't fluent in the lexicon." Rainbow Dash stopped her pacing, and leveled her red, blood-shot eyes at Twilight. "With a gun, Twi." "Oh. What's that?" Twilight asked. The girl's eyes flashed from tired to angry, and then to confused before understanding finally dawned on her. "You really don't know what a gun is, do you?" "I don't think we have those in Equestria, no." Twilight finally took a moment to read Dash's disheveled look and realized something was wrong. "Sunset's hurt, isn't she?" "Just... just get in the car. One of the other girls can explain at the hospital. I'm at my limit for being the person who isn't a basket case right now, and I still have to make the drive back before I can totally crack." Twilight sat quietly in the passenger seat while Rainbow Dash drove. She didn't even notice Dash's bloodied knuckles until they had nearly arrived at Canterlot General Hospital. [hr] The waiting area of the Emergency Room was as cold to the eye as it was to the touch. White tile and white paint reflected white fluorescent light, and the blue of the sky outside looked like a painted facade when viewed through the double-paned, thermally insulated windows that dotted the western wall. Five girls sat in stiff maroon chairs at the center of the room, each of them more worn down than old wooden arm rests on their chairs. "Hey," Twilight said as she walked through the sliding doors into the reception room. She turned to speak to Rainbow Dash, but was met with a flash of colored hair as the other girl made a bee line for the bathroom. Rarity got up from her chair, a basket of mascara smeared tissue at her feet, and grabbed Twilight's hands. "Don't mind her, darling. It was hard for her not being here." "It's fine, really." Twilight walked back to the line of chairs and sat in the one next to Rarity. "I just wish I understood exactly what was going on. The journal message said Sunset was shot, Rainbow said by a gun, but I don't know what kind of monster or magic that is and I'm starting to freak out a little bit. When can we see Sunset?" "It's a weapon, Princess," the native Twilight explained after a minute. "There are many different models and variations, but basically they all use a controlled explosion to launch a projectile at incredible speed with the intent of causing grievous harm to the target." "What was Sunset doing anywhere near something like that?" "Bein' a hero, like she does sometimes," Rainbow Dash said as she sat herself back down in the circle of chairs. "Sorry about the silent treatment, Twilight. Had to focus on not losing my head in the car. I think I'm square now. I can't believe you don't have weapons where you're from, though. That sounds... kinda great, actually." Rainbow casually wiped her sleeve across her eyes one more time. "We do have weapons, Dash. The Guard has swords, spears, lances, bows, cannons, dozens of different offensive and defensive spells. Just no 'guns.' Which, back to the point, what exactly happened?" "She saved my life, that's what happened," Applejack answered. "Mine and who knows how many others, to boot. 'Bout half an hour before school let out, we all got a text from Sunset saying there was an emergency in the south hall, and to call the police. I rushed out of class when I saw the message and left my phone on my desk, on account of my being a damned fool and all." Applejack pulled a tissue out of the box on Fluttershy's lap, blew her nose into it, and tossed it into the bin at Rarity's feet. Rarity, to her credit, didn't flinch. "When I got there, I saw Sunset staring down some guy with a gun in his hand. Looked like he was wearing the same jacket as Mac had when he was at CHS, so I reckon he was a student a couple years back. She kept his attention and I snuck up and clobbered him good from behind. Thought he was out cold—being a damned fool and all, remember—and I stepped right over him to ask Sunset if she was alright. Next thing I know she's shovin' me aside, there's a bang like the whole world's coming down, and then—" "—I saw him lift the gun," Rainbow Dash interrupted. "I ran as fast as I could, but I wasn't fast enough. The bastard only got one off, though." She balled her hands into fists until the fresh scabs on her knuckles threatened to split. "I kicked the gun away. Fell and twisted my ankle, but I got it. And then I climbed on top of him and started hitting him until I couldn't feel my hands. Not sure who finally pulled me off of him." "The rest of us showed up after the gunshot, along with most of the school," Fluttershy said. "We tried to keep everyone calm. It kind of worked. Once the police and paramedics showed up, I realized I should contact you. Luckily, Sunset had the journal in her bag. Right after that is when everyone except Rainbow Dash... oh what's the phrase..." "Lost our shit," Pinkie said from behind a frock of perfectly straight hair. "Adrenaline crash," the native Twilight said. "But Dash kept her head on straight. She loaded us into her car, dropped us off here, and went back to wait for you. The implicit assumption being that you'd show up almost immediately, and weren't off handling your own emergency." "I was doing the best I could at the time, alright? Thinking things through isn't my strong point in the best of days, and today is basically the worst day." "You're a real hero, Rainbow Dash," Princess Twilight said. "You did great." "Bull," Dash spat back. "Real heroes stop the bad guys before anyone gets hurt. I just ran cleanup duty." "Don't sell yourself short, darling. Minimizing a crisis is its own sort of miracle." "Would have been two of us in deep mud if you hadn't shown up when you did." Applejack pulled Dash in for an awkward side hug across the chair arms. "Don't beat yourself up." "AJ's right," Twilight said. "I've seen hostile foreign armies invade my home twice, chaos gods run amok, magical dictators return from ancient exile, a soul-sucking demon centaur, and more malevolent unicorns than I care to count; most of whom live in or near my house, come to think of it. Through all of that, though, I learned that, sometimes, bad things happen before you can stop them. And it's not your fault. But you pick yourself up, and get right back to fixing the problem. That's what you did. That's what my friends back home do, too, and they're the bravest heroes I know." The six girls stared at Princess Twilight for a long, drawn out moment. "So Equestria has it's fair share of trouble, too, I guess," Rainbow Dash finally said. "I guess the grass isn't always greener on the other side." "It does taste better, though." And for what felt like the first time in forever, all seven girls laughed. [hr] Several hours later, a doctor emerged from the doors marked "Authorized Personnel Only" wearing a white coat and a green mask tucked under his chin. "Family of Sunset Shimmer," he said into the waiting area. The girls, all strewn across the chairs and each other in a vain attempt to nap comfortably, snapped up to attention and charged the doctor at the mention of their wounded friend's name, clamoring for answers on her condition and when they could see her. The doctor silenced them all with a sternly raised hand. "Do any of you know where her parents or other legal guardian are? I need to speak to them first." The girls all looked at each other in a panic. "She's emancipated!" Twilight yelled out, pushing her glasses back on her nose. "Kind of." "I'm the one whose supposed to be looking out for her," Princess Twilight volunteered. The doctor looked back and forth between the two nearly identical girls. "It's complicated," the two Twilight's said simultaneously. "So you—" the doctor pointed at Princess Twilight "—are a legally responsible party in the matter of Sunset Shimmer's medical care and affairs?" "Yes," Twilight lied. "Fine. Come on back," the doctor said, clearly having already passed his threshold for dealing with anxious teenagers. "Just you." "I'll be back with news as soon as I can. I promise." Twilight followed the doctor back through the doors and down a long stretch of halls with colored lines across the walls and floor. Mobile computer stations and supply carts stuck out from every nook and cranny while nurses worked their way between rooms cordoned off with draw curtains; taking notes, reading temperatures, and trying to soothe panicked patients. The doctor swiped his badge across a grey panel on the wall and a door swung open in front of them. Down another hall, passed a nurses station with a coffee maker that clearly seen better days, first door on the right. "Room one twenty seven," Twilight said aloud so she could commit it to memory more easily. The doctor opened the door and gestured for Twilight to go in first. Inside was Sunset Shimmer. She had plastic tubes wrapped around her her head leading into her nostrils, and her left arm was draped across her stomach, a mess of IV drips taped down to her skin and monitors clipped onto her fingers. Her right hand did a weak little wave from her bedside at Twilight, and a near voiceless "hey" escaped her dried lips. "Heard you were playing hero again." It was Twilight's turn to break down, but she pushed the worst of it down for later. With watery eyes, she sat down at Sunset's bedside and gently clasped her free hand. Sunset shrugged and gave Twilight a little smirk before the pain set in. The doctor pulled a stool up to the other side of Sunset's bed. "I'm Doctor Hawkeye. I'm the surgeon who operated on you." He caught a flash of shame on Twilight's face and spared her a quick, soft glance, to let her know that this wasn't the first time someone in distress hadn't thought to ask his name during the long walk through the corridors. "This young lady here says she's your guardian?" Sunset was confused for a moment before the long-term repercussions of her situation set in: insurance paperwork, bills, liability forms, and a host of questions about her personal history that she really didn't want to answer. She started to panic, but a gentle squeeze on her right hand calmed her down. She nodded at Doctor Hawkeye. "Okay then." Hawkeye sat up straight on his stool. "We're still waiting on some post-surgery scans to develop, but my preliminary opinion is that you are an incredibly lucky young lady, all things considered. Given the angle of entry, a few centimeters in any direction and we'd be talking about likely permanent damage to your lungs or spine. There was some damage to your diaphragm, and I had to cut further to remove the bullet, so you won't be doing anything physically demanding in for the next several months. But, as it stands, unless the scans show us something new, you'll be on the road to a complete recovery." Sunset smiled and gave Doctor Hawkeye a flimsy thumbs up with her left hand. "I know it's been a harrowing day for you and your friends and you're eager to see each other, but in my medical opinion the best thing for all of you to do right now is to get some rest." Hawkeye leveled a different sort of subtle look at Twilight. "Right, of course. Have to rest after an operation. Makes sense." Twilight moved to stand up, but Sunset grabbed her hand and stopped her. "A... J..." she managed in just more than a whisper. "Applejack is fine. A little shaken up—everyone is—but fine. You saved the day, Sunset. I'm so proud of you. Now get some rest." Sunset nodded weakly, and let the exhaustion of her day finally take her. Twilight and Doctor Hawkeye quietly left the room and walked back to the waiting room. Doctor Hawkeye stopped just short of running his badge to open the last door. "I've taken a lot of metal out of a lot of people," he said without turning to face Twilight. "But never out of a kid like that. I thought things would be easier back home, but..." "'Not always greener,' or something, right?" Twilight said, still fighting down her own emotions. "Isn't that the truth." "Thank you for saving my friend, Doctor Hawkeye." "I hope I never have to see her again," he said as he tapped his badge and opened the last door, sending Twilight out to deliver the news to her friends.